About Shoreline Area News

We are Shoreline residents who strive to provide you with news and information about the area in which we live and work. We cover Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, and some events and destinations in surrounding areas.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Products that offer natural solutions for dog and cat challenges

Photos courtesy Mud Bay

Mud Bay, a pet store offering healthy, natural products for dogs and cats, opens Saturday, March 12 at 9am in their Shoreline location at 175th and Midvale, next to Trader Joe's in the Shoreline Marketplace.

Mud Bay started with one store, run by a family in Tumwater on - where else? Mud Bay. Today, the family still owns the stores which will grow to 37 by the end of this year, all in the Pacific Northwest.

Dog toys and a variety of dishes

The Lake Forest Park store will celebrate 11 years on the lower level of Town Center this year, and folks in the neighborhood can visit the Mud Bay website to check out upcoming adoption and in-store events at the store.

Knowledgable employees and quality, natural, healthy products for dogs and cats are the heart of the operation at Mud Bay.

Setting up the Litter Lab to help cat owners choosefrom among a variety of litter pans and types of litter

Products have a focus on natural, non-toxic ingredients. They carry lines of supplements as well as food, toys, treats, litter, bedding, carriers and all things cat and dog.

Company-created brochures on such subjects as skin allergies, urinary tract infections and ways to calm a dog’s stomach issues are available in every store.

Getting hundreds of varieties of food stockedis a big job, but a fun one

Employees are highly valued. The chain is working on a business plan to make full-time employees stockholders in the company. They are highly trained, able to discuss specific issues with customers and help them to find solutions. Before going on the floor, staff have extensive training and get regular updates as new products and product lines come in.

Store Manager Lizzie and her dog Sodo

The Shoreline store manager is Lizzie Humphries, Burien born and raised, she lives in North Seattle. A couple of fun facts: for the past year Lizzie has played cymbals and trombone for the Seahawks Blue Thunder band, and before that played for two years with the Sounders Soundwave band.

Freeze dried, dehydrated, and raw frozen foods

Mud Bay partners with local shelter and foster organizations, more than 30 of them between Washington and Oregon. They offer their stores to animal welfare organizations for adoption days, help them get things they need to care for their animals such as food, cash, and supplies through drives in the stores, participate in sponsorships at their fundraising events, in-store events to help them raise awareness of their organizations, and many other activities.

The last cat treat is put in place on the display stand

They have been working with PAWS since 2001, and love Old Dog Haven and support the work they do through the activities listed above.

We are always looking to partner with organizations local to the areas where we open stores, and have plans to work with local organizations in addition to PAWs and Old Dog Haven. Finding these is one of the tasks our Store Manager will take on.